


The rhythm of this trembling heart

by blackeyedsoul



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Cheesy, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, M/M, once again: love conquers all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-04-07
Packaged: 2018-03-20 10:40:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3647250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackeyedsoul/pseuds/blackeyedsoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So...yes...another Vampire story. My fingers itched and I needed to write something. This was the first thing my little fan girl heart came up with and then it grew too long to not share it with you...or get on your nerves with...depends on you :)</p><p>But my dearest and most trusted beta <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/sal_si_puedes/pseuds/sal_si_puedes">sal_si_puedes</a> told me she liked it and like always her word is my command, so here it is.</p><p>I nicked the title from Annie Lennox.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So...yes...another Vampire story. My fingers itched and I needed to write something. This was the first thing my little fan girl heart came up with and then it grew too long to not share it with you...or get on your nerves with...depends on you :)
> 
> But my dearest and most trusted beta [sal_si_puedes](http://archiveofourown.org/users/sal_si_puedes/pseuds/sal_si_puedes) told me she liked it and like always her word is my command, so here it is.
> 
> I nicked the title from Annie Lennox.

Mike slammed the door of his apartment shut and slumped back against its cool surface to close his eyes – just for a moment, just for a few deep breaths. His clothes were covered in blood and dirt, his hands and face only perfunctorily wiped clean of the remains of his last kill. Exhaustion filled every fiber of his body, his leg hurt from the enormous blow the bastard had landed on it and his eye lids felt like sandpaper. Mike was in desperate need of some sleep but this was not going to happen.  
It was almost dawn, just enough time to get himself cleaned up and to get to work. Mike switched on the coffee machine before he limped into the bathroom. His black jeans might be worth washing but the hoody went straight into the trash.  
  
A small sigh escaped him when he stuffed the hoody into a plastic back. He had stopped counting all the clothes he had had to throw away over the years and he silently thanked every discount store that sold the cheapest clothing he could find, otherwise he would have been ruined ages ago just from constantly buying new stuff.  
His leg hurt like a bitch when he had to step into his bathtub that also served as a shower. Nothing was broken, that much he was able to tell, but his right thigh would surely develop an enormous bruise where the shoe hat hit him. Mike was used to it, he was used to getting hurt and that was indeed only a small injury compared to what had happened to him throughout the years.  
  
Mike had to scrub his hair and face thoroughly to get rid of the already dried blood and body tissue of the sucker he had put to rest tonight. Afterwards he felt a little better or at least he felt human again. The strong coffee also helped to clear his sleep deprived senses and he went to his closet to put on a fresh suit.  
One last look into the mirror told him that he hadn’t missed anything… no remaining blood anywhere on his face or hair… he was ready to go. Biking was a pain in the ass with his sore leg but the fresh air woke his muddled senses and made him at least half way ready to face the day.  
  
Since being a Vampire hunter did not pay the bills he had to drag himself to his day job in time or he would be in serious trouble.  
  
Mike had accepted his fate years ago. Even before his parents had died he knew something about him was different but he had not been able to put a finger on it until he was fourteen. Mike had recognized that he was far stronger than all the others boys he knew, even far stronger than grown men, but he never knew why, how or with what that could be of any help to him. He had never been a fighter, had never been someone for a brawl or any other kind of violence. He had been a member of the ringer team but that was not so much about brute force, it was more about technique. So Mike had never known what to do with his strength and thus had just ignored it.  
Once he had hit puberty Mike realized other changes – besides the obvious teenage stuff of course – he realized that his senses and reflexes seemed heightened when he got stressed, the adrenalin apparently kick-starting some very useful skills.  
  
Also his body proved to be very good at healing. That did not mean he could not be badly injured and that it did not hurt but compared to ordinary human beings he could take much more before the injury got truly serious or before a bone would break but it did not save him from pain and bruises and scars.  
At the age of sixteen he had had his first encounter with the enemy. The strangest thing Mike remembered about it was that he had not been at all surprised, on the contrary. It had felt as if suddenly everything was falling into place, everything suddenly seemed to make sense. In the blink of an eye Mike somehow realized what it all meant. Who he was and what he was made for. Nonetheless his first kill was sloppy and made a really big mess, not to mention it had come close to Mike being the one dead in the end but he had been lucky, the first Vampire he had crossed paths with had been young and too lost in his thirst and lust for blood to win the fight.  
  
After that Mike had learned as much as he could about Vampires and how to kill them. That had been really hard because with all the Vampire hype, books and movies it had been time-consuming to find reliable sources and separate the wheat from the chaff. A lot of things he had to find out by himself in the end. It turned out that the ground rules where indeed fairly consistent with Vampire stories: Wood worked, stake in the heart killed, same went for beheading and although it was mostly considered to be an effective weapon against werewolves, silver worked too. Mike had never met a werewolf by the way, he did not believe they really existed. Holy Water was nonsense, as was garlic, crosses did not work either and Vampires _did_ move in the daylight but it made them notably weaker and most of them preferred to rest during the day to avoid the discomfort and stick to their nocturnal nature. Seemingly they just did not feel well or comfortable under god`s mighty light. One fact Stoker had gotten right as one of the very few who had gotten anything right at all.  
  
Another thing that made hunters special was that they were immune against Vampire’s mind tricks. They could not be manipulated or compelled like other humans.  
He had already lived a few years as a hunter when he had met another one for the first time. His name had been Ben and they had happened to run across each other during a fight. Obviously they had both found the same nest and had chosen to attack it the same night. Mike had learned a lot from him but they had lost contact over the years. He was not even sure if Ben was still alive.  
  
One of the few constants in his life as far as close relationships or friendships were concerned had always been Trevor. They had been friends since forever and they had done a lot of stupid things together including getting thrown out of college, smoking pot and dealing drugs. Well, Mike had only dealt once, or rather had tried to, which had let him to his new job and his new boss Harvey Specter.  
  
His job in a law firm where he pretended to be a magna cum laude Harvard graduated lawyer and worked his ass off till the wee hours to be a hunter afterwards and somehow trying to get enough sleep to prevent his body from shutting down.  
His job in downtown Manhattan, where he was just about to lock his bike in front of the enormous glass and steel office building and hurry to his desk in the bullpen.  
Could his life be any more complicated?  
  
The answer immediately popped up in his head: Yes it could be and it had been! Harvey was not only the one who had given him a new job, a chance at a different life, he had done so much more for him and he had done it looking illegally handsome and Mike did not even try to deny that he could not stop thinking about his boss or stop staring at him when he felt unobserved.  
Harvey was the one person he admired, the one person who made him feel safe in a way he could not fully explain since he of all people did not need someone to save him, well at least not physically, and yet he always had the feeling Harvey was so much stronger, taller, greater than himself and in a good way, in a way that made Mike crave to just lean into him and be his. Yes, he had an epic crush on his boss.  
Not that it did really matter because Harvey was... Well, Harvey... who did not bother to conceal his steady flow of very beautiful and very female conquests.  
But for Mike it made the whole thing very complicated and sometimes it was almost impossible to focus on work when he was exhausted to the edge of a coma _and_ Harvey was present.  
Mike slumped into his chair and opened his first can of Red Bull for today which would positively not be his last. Tonight he had to sleep for at least a few hours, Vampires or not, but first he had to make it through the day. 

Harvey arrived two hours after Mike. The elevator doors parted and Harvey effortlessly soaked in every bit of information that flooded his senses. Just like every morning he scanned his surroundings while he strolled down the hallways. Donna was already at her desk and the whole floor was thrumming and buzzing with activity. The bullpen was stuffed with associates, the hallways filled with passing colleagues, phones were ringing, dozens of voices blended together and the smell of coffee, perfume, after shave and many more odors freshly showered people carried around lingered in the air. Everything was just like it used to be on a perfectly normal day at Pearson Hardman.  
Mike was already there, Harvey knew that, although he could not to see him from the elevator. He was able to pick up his scent and hear his heartbeat. Harvey would recognize his associate’s heartbeat everywhere, he had gotten used to it and Mike`s scent was too delicious to be ignored. Harvey had been around for almost 500 years now, and yet he had not met many humans that smelled that appealing to him. It was sweet and spicy and so very distinct he could identify that olfactory fingerprint out of hundreds of other people.  
500 years as a Vampire had taught Harvey many things. One of them was that killing humans was unnecessary and had become unfulfilling. He had murdered dozens of them in his first decades. A few by accident because he was not able to control his hunger, a few of them because they deserved it and a few even just because he could, but at some point he had realized that he was not made for that. He did not enjoy death and he did not understand those who left a trail of bodies behind them just for fun. He did not get off on watching the light of life leaving a human's body and their eyes slowly turn dark while he drained them. He did not like to think of himself as a predator – not anymore.  
In addition to that times had changed and a Vampire’s DNA, fingerprints and surveillance footage was just as available to the police as any human’s so it was wise to be cautious just to avoid too many questions and too many humans that started to wonder.  
  
Besides he was a lawyer in _this_ lifetime and he liked his choice of living this lifespan and as a lawyer it would be a good idea to not be connected to dead bodies.  
For now he enjoyed living his life as Harvey Specter, best closer in the city, and it was a very good life he had built, one that went smoothly and straight, well it had… until the day Mike Ross had stumbled into his life.  
Harvey had smelled the weed in the suitcase the second Mike had entered his hotel room. At first he had just been curious what this boy with the fluttering heart and the adrenalin filled bloodstream would tell him. Then the weed tumbled out of the suitcase and onto the floor and Mike had been forced to come up with some kind of explanation. Harvey would never forget his honest and deep surprise that Mike had instantly told him the truth. Harvey could not be fooled by any human, their bodies gave away every lie, but Mike had not told a lie. He had confessed to Harvey without hesitation, every single word had been the truth and if that had not been enough Mike had surprised him even more with his unique mind and on top of it all, Mike had shown him that he had a caring heart all in just one first accidental meeting.  
Harvey was not prone to stupid, spontaneous and dangerous decisions – but with Mike he had made one.  
  
If all of that had not been enough for a first encounter he had felt himself drawn to Mike’s scent. After the adrenalin rush had subsided and Mike had calmed down his scent had changed to its original state and Harvey could not help but soak it in, inhale the cloud of temptation that the young man's cells emitted.  
Of course he was too old to be smitten just by an endearing smell and a pair of ice blue eyes. Harvey had only fallen for a man once in all his lifetimes. He had had countless women and not so countless men but he rarely had had feelings for any of them. He enjoyed their bodies and their blood but that was about it. Humans were hardly able to challenge him. That was another reason why he loved his current life that much, because he had found humans he actually liked and appreciated for their minds, not lovers but friends.  
After working with Mike for months it showed that he had chosen well, but it also showed that his fascination had only deepened and he had found himself doing many more stupid and dangerous things for him. Well, as dangerous as things could get for him, given that he was more or less invincible, but stupid ones nonetheless. He had always been trying to give Mike the impression that he caused more trouble than was worth Harvey's time and he still did that but if he would be called on it, if he had to be completely honest he had never met a human being with Mike's abilities. He _pretended_ to be a lawyer at one of the top firms in the country, populated with magna and summa cum laude lawyers and he had them all fooled.  
On his way around the bullpen Harvey kept listening to the steady beat of Mike's heart until he reached his office and greeted Donna with a friendly smile and taking the extra-large coffee she already held up for him.  
“Morning, Harvey!”  
  
*****  
  
Mike was busy reading bylaws until around one in the afternoon when Donna called him to Harvey's office. Even before Mike opened the door he could read on Harvey's face that – whoever his current interlocutor was – Harvey was not pleased to say the least. The other man had turned his back to the door and was talking to Harvey standing in the middle of the room. To Mike the scene looked like taken straight from National Geographic: two male stags fighting for dominance just on the verge to crush their antlers together and enter a serious battle. Who was the guy? Mike swung open the door and successfully disturbed the obviously unpleasant conversation. Harvey turned his attention to Mike and the other man immediately spun around to see who had entered. A smug face gave Mike a gauging once -over while Harvey introduced them.  
"Mike, meet Travis Tanner. He is suing one of our clients and wanted to see who is going to beat him, in person. Mr. Tanner, this is Mike Ross, my associate."  
Mike offered his hand to the dark haired man. He could have sworn there was a dangerous flicker in Tanner's eyes when Harvey mentioned his name but it was gone too fast to put a finger on it.  
  
Something about this guy gave him a very strange feeling. The sound of his voice as he greeted Mike was eerie, at least in Mike’s ears. Harvey did not seem to mind anything as far as Mike could tell.  
The "Ah, Mr. Ross, I’ve heard so much about you" made Mike's hair stand on end. He did not like what Tanner’s tone of voice implied, although he didn’t have the slightest idea what it was.  
The rest of the meeting went quickly and Mike had not really much to contribute. He mainly listened to the two lawyers exchanging more or less politely wrapped threats and observed Tanner as closely as he could without being obvious.  
Tanner threw him a short glance every now and then and each time the other man looked at him Mike felt extremely at unease. Was the guy eying him? Mike thought he detected a small triumphant smile and maybe something like... appetite... definitely something disdainful but Tanner was careful to return his eyes to Harvey quickly each time.  
Harvey did not even seem to recognize it or if he did it did not bother him.  
They both watched Tanner leave after a while and Harvey scoffed: "He's so going to get his ass handed to him. The smug bastard really thought he could come here and bullshit me." Then he turned around to Mike who half leaned, half sat on the windowsill next to Harvey's baseballs.  
"Mike, we're going to start with finding out everything we can about that asshole and I suggest you start right now."  
  
*****  
  
Mike aimlessly roamed the streets that night. He had no special plan and he was hell-bent to get some sleep. He gave himself another hour then it would be two in the morning and that would be it. Honestly he could have just stayed at home but the strange meeting with Tanner did not leave him alone.  
"I've heard so much about you." What was that even supposed to mean? Sure as hell he had not heard about him from Harvey. He needed to find out if the guy was a Vampire, not that Mike knew any vampires with high end day jobs but nothing else really made sense! Or maybe he just saw ghosts and the Vampire idea was only a product of him being a hunter and the guy was just an unlikeable asshole and liked to put up a show, which was probably the more likely explanation, at least for ordinary people. Maybe he just automatically put up Harvey's dislike and the guy was just a normal, human major asshole.  
Why did he nod just have some kind of Vampire radar? He was hunter after all, why was he not able to somehow know when he met one? It would have made his live so much easier! Maybe he could find out where Tanner lived and see what he did after sunset. As a matter of fact if Tanner's client was suing them he'd just have to wait for the papers to get his address. He'd find out something about him but not today.  
  
*****  
  
The next day Mike fled the bullpen and took asylum in Harvey's office to be able to work in peace. Harvey's presence distracted him on a whole different level than the pandemonium in the bullpen and Mike clearly preferred the first one. Nonetheless he tried not to overstretch Harvey's willingness to let him work in his office for several reasons. First he was always a bit worried Harvey might find out that Mike enjoyed his company a little too much and second it was sometimes really hard for him to keep himself from observing Harvey, from devouring him with his eyes when he was not looking. Mike could never get enough of watching Harvey, if it had been possible he would just sat there for an indefinable amount of time and looked at him like at a painting in a museum. The one painting you fell in love with the first time you laid eyes on it and you look at it again and again and you wish you could take it home with you and look at it every day.  
They worked in silence for a few hours before Mike finally decided it would not hurt to ask Harvey what he knew. Mike paused his reading and leaned back into the black leather of the sofa before he asked: "This Tanner guy... Do you know him? I mean ... personally"  
Harvey stopped typing and turned his chair towards Mike to look at him while he rocked slightly back and forth and answered sincerely: "No, I don't. He seemed to assume I knew his name the other day but I have never heard of him before..."  
It was not exactly the truth though. Of course Harvey knew Tanner was a Vampire – the lack of a heartbeat was not something Harvey could miss. The same applied to Tanner but they had never crossed paths before, that was true.  
"Why are you asking?"  
"I don't know, I just don't like him... he creeps me out..."  
Harvey could not help but smirk at Mike's choice of words because the boy had no idea how close to the truth he actually was.  
"Neither do I and after we are done with him I hope we'll never have to deal with him again."  
Harvey turned his chair and lowered his eyes back to his work and Mike let it go. Harvey obviously did not have anything more to say about him so they carried on working in silence.  
  
*****  
  
Harvey was completely aware that over the months his thoughts about Mike had drifted more and more from the professional side to the rather inappropriate. He caught himself several times pretending to work while all he was really doing was listening to Mike's heartbeat and the way his blood flooded through his body, indulging in his scent. Of course he could just deny Mike's frequent requests to work in his office but Harvey liked to have him here. He enjoyed Mike's presence and he could not bring himself to send him away. He did not want to make him feel unwelcome, which was a rather rare sentiment for Harvey. He did not give a rat's ass about anyone else's sensitivities but he did about Mike's and he knew it.  
So he had Mike sitting in his office again and again Harvey seemed to enjoy torturing himself. He glanced over the edge of his laptop and watched Mike reading on his sofa. Harvey's eyes followed the line of Mike's crisp white collar that closed around his neck so perfectly and he stopped at the point where he could see Mike's blood pumping through his veins. Harvey flared his nostrils just the tiniest bit and yet it was enough to flood his senses with all of Mike. He smelled the coffee and energy drinks Mike had running through his system, he smelled his shampoo and after-shave and it all mixed with the underlying note that was distinctively Mike. For a small second he imagined Mike would look up and catch him staring so he would be able to look into his eyes. He loved Mike's blue eyes that were the exact opposite to his. In fact Harvey thought many things about Mike were the exact opposite to himself. Mike was friendly and open by nature, Mike was bright and full of life, bubbly and easily exited, he got invested in clients and cared all too much. Harvey was none of that and he could not remember if he had ever been.  
Nonetheless Harvey kept telling himself that it would be a very bad idea to actually do something about his stupid infatuation. He kept insisting that this could go wrong in so many ways it was not worth the risk. Countless scenarios in his head led to losing Mike, to losing what they were having now, exposure of his secret, exposure of their secret etc. etc. and he always ended this endless spinning circle with "don't touch Mike", but Harvey could feel his avoiding technique getting weaker and weaker. The words lost their power the more often he said them to himself.  
  
The last blow to his avoiding technique was given by a gorgeous black haired beautiful very young woman Harvey had taken home with him one night. She was, of course, more than willing to do whatever he wanted and Harvey had every intention to take her up on that offer. And there she was, this perfect girl in her lingerie, devouring his mouth and lasciviously writhing in his lap and yet he could not stop thinking about his associate and how _he_ might feel right there in his lap. How it would feel to kiss _him_ and touch _him_ , how he would love to get him naked and feel his warm skin, make him moan Harvey's name and have him all to himself. He tried hard to ban these images from his mind, tried to concentrate on the willing and warm body right there but the harder he tried the more he had to think about it.  
  
Harvey had enough. He gently took the woman's face into his hands and forced her to look at him. Voice deep and seductive he told her: "I am not going to fuck you but I still want you to not make a sound now and don’t even think of fighting me."  
He was hungry and he would definitely take her blood if nothing else tonight.  
When he had enough he made her forget the blood drinking part and sent her away – not before he had made the bite-marks disappear, of course.  
Harvey stayed behind alone, staring outside his glass-and-steel-palace, debating what to do now.  
Self-evidently he had noticed Mike's heart speed up whenever Harvey got near him or touched him or sometimes even when he looked at him but that did not absolutely prove Mike reciprocated his feelings. Even with all his abilities it was impossible to tell _why_ his heartbeat changed. Of course Harvey hoped it was because of the right reasons but he could not be absolutely sure.  
Yes, he could just make Mike do what he wanted but that was unthinkable! He would never manipulate him, not Mike! He wanted this to be real, to be what Mike wanted or not at all!  
So he had to do something to find out. In the end Harvey decided to make it as simple as possible . Tomorrow they were scheduled to conduct a rather important deposition which they would dominate – he did not doubt that for a second – he'd just take Mike for a drink in the evening and see what happened. If everything would go south he could still decide, just this one time, to make him forget and go on like they always had. At least he would _know_ then and be able to get over it. 500 years on this earth and he could still be turned into a fool by that little thing called love! He knocked back the rest of his scotch and scoffed: He was too old for denial, it was time to find out, the earth would keep on turning no matter what.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos they always make me very very happy and I found them tremendously reassuring. Hope you'll like the next chapter!

Harvey had been right. The deposition went exceptionally well, and when Mike came to his office in the evening to check if something else needed to be done Harvey casually asked: “Wanna join me for a drink?”  
'Thud`. Mike's heart jumped heavily in his chest but he managed to stay calm on the outside, hiding his surprise well, Harvey had not realized how much Mike had improved hiding his feelings.  
"Yeah, good idea ... I mean we totally rocked the deposition."  
Harvey could not help but smile at Mike's cheerful expression and his sometimes so juvenile choice of words.  
"Meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes."

Harvey had chosen a place he could be sure nobody who new them would be. He did not want to be disturbed by anyone, not being forced to exchange some polite small talk with whomever. They took a seat in a corner and Harvey asked automatically: “Are you hungry?” He had learned by then that Mike sometimes tried to live on caffeine alone.  
Of course Mike was hungry so they ordered something to eat. Harvey’s body had no need for food but Harvey ate when socially necessary. Not eating made human’s suspicious.  
They ate and talked and bantered like they usually did – in fact they always had a good time when they were together, not once was there nothing to talk about. With Mike everything always came naturally. Their wine glasses where almost empty when Harvey decided that that moment was as good as ever to put it out there: "We should do this more often."

Although he said it casually he added a hint of seduction, a small spark of hopefulness that would give him away if Mike was willing to pick it up.  
The mood shifted instantly. Mike looked down at his hands that had begun to play with the almost empty glass and nodded hesitantly, keeping his eyes fixed on his task of moving the wineglass in small circles over the table. Harvey waited until Mike finally lifted his eyes again.  
"Yes, this was nice, having a normal dinner and not talking about work all the time." Mike knew it was a weak attempt to deflect what this was really about and he knew that Harvey knew. 

Harvey only looked at him and nodded slightly, his eyes roamed between Mike's eyes for a few unnecessary seconds before his gaze fell down to Mike’s lips and Harvey could hear how Mike's pulse went out of control.  
Suddenly Mike realized this was really happening.  
He had thought and fantasized and even dreamt about this but he had never in a million years believed it would be even possible and now that it was undeniably within reach Mike realized it was impossible for him. How on earth should he ever do this? Harvey was smart and observant and trained to read people and there was no way Mike would be able to hide his second job from him. Mike knew, he just knew if he let this happen it would have to be absolute, there was no way he could ever let go of Harvey again once he had him and that would unavoidably lead to questions and he could never reveal the truth about himself to Harvey. If the truth drove Harvey away _everything_ would be lost even what they had now. And he could not risk that, he needed Harvey in his life and they had reached solid ground with what they had now. Anything that could take Harvey away scared him to death.  
  
Mike panicked. He mumbled something on the side of “I have to go, thank you for the dinner, see you tomorrow”, and left, forcing himself not to start running. The skin on his back crawled, he knew, he just knew, Harvey's eyes were following him and Mike forced down the urge to look back. It was stupid. He knew it. There would still be a tomorrow in the office but he was not able to think that far at the moment. All Mike knew was he that could never ever let Harvey know the truth, not _that_ truth.  
Seeing Mike flee like that spoke right to the predator, it fed Harvey's deepest instincts to go after him just for the hunt just to show the human that there was no getting away from him, there was no denying him what he wanted but he could not have that. Harvey pressed his flat hands to the table’s surface and fought for calm. He forcefully tore his eyes away from Mike's back and inhaled deeply. No, no, no, Harvey would not let him get away now – but he had to keep himself in rein. Harvey threw a couple of bills onto the table and followed Mike.  
  
He caught up with him on the sidewalk and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.  
“Don't run from me.” It was a dark command, vibrating through the night air.  
Mike froze and stopped in his tracks. Harvey could feel every muscle in Mike's body tense and he heard how Mike held his breath for several heartbeats. A small freeze in time that only affected the two of them while the world around them hurried on, unfazed. And Harvey needed this small window to force down what Mike's escape still threatened to unleash inside of him. The way he had just talked to Mike was all the ground he was willing let his nature have right now.  
  
Mike did not move, did not turn around, but Harvey felt collected enough for the moment and broke the contact only to reach for Mike’s elbow and manhandle him away from the middle of the sidewalk to a more silent nook between two apartment buildings where they finally stood face to face and Harvey broke the silence.  
“Mike, what is going on?”  
Mike scoffed and let himself sink into the wall behind him. He shook his head slightly, acknowledging the ridiculousness of Harvey's question before his head shot up and he looked at Harvey and, his voice a little too loud in his ears, he exploded:  
“Shit, Harvey … you know exactly what’s going on…this," he gestured between them, "...us ...", Mike fought for words, breathless as if he had just run a Marathon, until he gave up trying and just bit out a helpless "Shit!" Mike nervously ran his hand through his hair and avoided to look at Harvey who was so dangerously close to him... Too close to let Mike think straight... Too close to not notice the lingering scent of his after-shave ... Too close to not wish he could just touch him.  
Harvey's voice grew very low now, soft and dark, like warm golden honey. It was the voice he used to invade human's minds but he did not add the last ingredient that was needed for compelling. He just closed in, almost touching Mike's lips and purred: "I want to kiss you, Mike...I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long..."  
And he stilled, giving Mike the chance to tell him that he did not want this.  
  
Mike realized what Harvey was doing, he understood the unspoken question perfectly but he was unable to move away. The pull his body felt towards Harvey's form that shadowed him was overwhelming. Harvey lifted his hand and thumbed over Mike's cheekbone and along the line of his jaw and Mike felt electrified. He could not stop looking into Harvey's dark eyes and let Harvey's words wash over him and yes, yes, yes, kiss him, yes please.  
Mike's hands seemed to act on their own volition when he grabbed Harvey's lapels and their lips met. Although he knew it was coming, he knew it would happen, the touch knocked all his breath out of his lungs and made his knees go weak. He was kissing Harvey! He was kissing the most gorgeous man he had ever known. This was surreal – maybe he was dreaming. Harvey's tongue gently licked at his lips and Mike opened his mouth and a small moan escaped him when Harvey pushed in and everything just _melted_ away, his body melted into Harvey's and his brain melted under the unbelievable feeling of Harvey's kiss, Harvey's tongue passionately claiming his mouth – if he would die from a heart attack right now he would at least die happy.  
  
It had never been like this before. Yes, Harvey had been in love before but when their lips touched and Mike opened his mouth for Harvey's begging tongue he was so forcefully drawn into the touch he had not been prepared for _that_. He had not been prepared for _how good_ Mike would feel and taste. He instantly craved more. How could only one kiss make him burn with desire so deep down to his core? Him, who had seen and done and had it all! He stood there in a dark street and was helpless! He, who usually was always collected and in charge, used to watch his lovers come apart under his touch he found himself aroused in seconds, _aching_ for this human's touch.  
There, right there he realized that this could be nothing but all-consuming and all-giving and taking or nothing else and that was impossible if Mike did not know who he was really dealing with. He wanted this human more than he had ever wanted anything before but he needed him to want him back for what he really was. He needed Mike to know and still want him there was no other way! He knew that now.  
  
But he could kiss him just a little longer, just a little more time to taste Mike, to soak in the smell of his skin and the feeling of their tongues touching, just a few moments longer before he needed to stop, before he did not trust himself any longer and he broke free, forced himself away from Mike's warm and welcoming body.  
"Mike..." Harvey panted his lips still on Mike's ..."oh god, Mike, you feel so good...you have no idea ... No idea..." and he pulled him close again and licked deep into Mike's mouth, moaning softly when Mike kissed back hungrily and pulled Harvey even closer, close enough to feel they were both hard for each other.  
Harvey broke free once again and squeezed his eyes shut, breathing heavily to regain some control.  
"No... Not tonight... Mike, there are some things I need to tell you first before this goes any further."  
Mike did not understand, how could he? His blue eyes scanned Harvey's face incredulously.  
"Harvey... I... What...?"  
Mike was not even sure what to ask, was he being rejected now? What held Harvey back now? Why even start this if he did not want it?  
Harvey could see the million questions running over Mike's face. Of course! What else had he expected? Mike probably thought Harvey was just messing with him. He quickly tried to reassure Mike.  
"Mike...please ... I need just... I need to explain something to you and I want to do that with a clear mind.”  
"You are not secretly married ... Are you?" Mike half mocked half considered the changes of him being right and his hands left Harvey's lapels.  
Harvey smiled, clearly amused. That was one of the things he loved so much about Mike. He always managed to make him feel better, even with his most stupid jokes! Harvey shook his head to answer Mike's question.  
"Let me drive you home and we talk about this... Soon. Yeah?"  
"Yes, okay," Mike agreed – what else could he do now? 

*****

Back home in his apartment Mike collapsed onto his couch and tried to fathom what had just happened. Harvey had kissed him, Harvey had wanted him. Mike had fantasized about this moment countless times but that was all it had been for him: a fantasy. Never in a million years would he have imagined that Harvey Specter would think about him that way.  
Who could have known that Harvey would feel that amazing!? It was like he could still sense Harvey's lips on his own, Harvey's hands on his face. Shivers ran up and down Mike's spine only from thinking about it. In the same breath he was scared, scared about how strongly he had reacted to it. Harvey had practically turned him into jelly with his very first touch. Mike had been inept to resist, completely out of control and he was not used to that. He could not afford being so careless, so weak, and he was back to the initial problem: He could never be with Harvey without Harvey finding out the truth sooner or later.  
With a desperate frustrated moan he slumped back against the backrest and dragged his palms over his face as if he would be able to wipe away the ghost of Harvey's touches.  
And what was it Harvey insisted to talk about first? Their jobs? The fact that Mike was his associate and how they would deal with whatever this was between them at work? Okay, he got it but why was Harvey so adamant about talking it through first?  
It drove him crazy to sit around, not getting any answers out of his own confused brain. He needed to do something, he'd go crazy if he stayed here trying to make sense of this, so he jumped up from his sofa and put on another of his worthless shirts before he slung his black longish tripod bag over his back that served perfectly as a unobtrusive sheath for his sword and left his apartment.

*****

Harvey was not one single bit clearer in his head than Mike. He had gone home straight after he had dropped Mike off and now he was pacing around his dark apartment in the same attempt to sort out what he should do now. The power of their encounter had taken him completely by surprise. Of course he had forced the outcome of this evening but he had not been prepared for his _own_ reaction. Even when he thought about it now, he was convinced that he needed, he wanted to tell Mike who he was. Harvey had always hidden this one secret at all costs, even considering how many lines they had already crossed, he had always kept this one secret to himself. But if they were going to cross _this_ line he could not do it without being completely honest – not with Mike.  
Which led to the question of how and when and where he should talk to him. It needed to be soon but he wanted them to have time. Whatever would happen afterwards he did not want them to have to rush to work with things unsaddled and it needed to be somewhere private. Harvey could not have eyes and ears around when he spilled his darkest secret.  
Unfortunately it was only Monday so he would have to tell Mike to wait until Friday evening or even Saturday. Maybe it would be best to meet Mike at his place giving him the security of familiar territory instead of feeling lured into the lion's den as soon as he'd realized the truth. After everything had been said Harvey could only hope Mike would be able to still see him, Harvey, and not just a monster out of some nightmare. Yes he knew vampires where once again extremely popular – a revival that seemed to happen once or twice in every hundred years, but Mike was not a teenage girl and Harvey's skin did not sparkle in the sunlight so the hype was probably useless in his situation.  
He was still pacing around between his fireplace and the kitchen stopping, from time to time to look outside or to pour himself another glass of whiskey when he finally felt like he had a plan ... kind of.

*****

Mike was beyond anxious when he entered the firm the next morning. He honestly had no idea how he was supposed to behave around Harvey now. Did Harvey want him to act like nothing had happened or should he try to talk to him about it?  
When he realized that Donna _and_ Harvey where already at the office he immediately dropped all his thoughts about what might happen – it was almost some kind of reflex to immediately rush to Harvey's office ready for whatever would be necessary – because when Harvey was in that early it could only mean one thing: Some kind of shit had hit the fan.  
  
It turned out that Travis Tanner was trying to conjure a major shit storm and thankfully for once that set them all into full battle mode. The rest of Tuesday and Wednesday went by without Mike even leaving the office and his immense workload gave him no time to get worked up about the kissing incident. It showed that at work they were the same well-oiled machine they had always been and on Thursday Mike even saw a little light at the end of the tunnel made of endless paperwork. So when Harvey saw him again on Thursday afternoon Mike obviously looked enough like shit to get sent home to get a few hours of sleep.  
"You are no use to me if you pass out at your desk, Mike. Go home and sleep. I'll call you if I need you, otherwise I'll see you tomorrow," had been Harvey's exact orders and he had added in a more subdued voice: "We'll talk tomorrow evening, when the major work is done."  
Mike passed out on his bed in his suit at around three in the afternoon.  
  
Harvey had no explanation why he felt so restless that night. After he had sent Mike home and sorted through all the facts and figures till late in the evening he somehow could not bring himself to go home. His skin seemed to crawl as he walked through the dark streets of New York. He wandered through the city aimlessly although he did not know why but he had learned to trust his instincts, let them take over from time to time. And something deep inside of him told him to keep moving, to open his senses wide and keep going, allow the predator inside of him to be in charge, to hunt down a prey he did not yet know. Then he heard something very unusual through the ever present noises of the city. Someone was fighting. What he heard was no usual street mugging or drunken fistfight. It was something far more serious, a life-and-death situation, and from what he could hear Vampires were involved. Harvey was at the scene in seconds. He hid in the shadows and tried to understand what was going on when his guts clenched painfully. Mike! He saw Mike fighting with two Vampires and it was not just any human fighting for his life this was a _hunter_ determined to kill his sworn enemy. Mike fought with superhuman strength, his body moved fast and mercilessly against his foes. One hand carried a wooden stake and the other a short blade made to cut a head from the shoulders. Harvey stared at the picture that was fascinating in its brutality and yet seeing Mike like this felt like an iron fist squeezing his heart. It was a painful, terrible hurt in his chest, a pain he had not felt in hundreds of years. Mike was a hunter and he, Harvey Specter, represented everything he despised. Mike lived to kill him. Mike swirled around his own axis and with one strike he beheaded one of his opponents. The Vampire fell down in a gust of blood and was gone.

Mike fought with all that was in him, his hunter senses had completely taken over by now and he moved quickly and with superhuman strength. The adrenalin made him feel invincible and his sword cut through the vampire’s neck like it was butter. One more to go, he thought, already feeling triumphant, but then in the blink of an eye his luck changed. A trap, his mind shouted when his senses picked up footsteps from at least three others, but it was too late. Four were too much to handle, above all because they had the element of surprise on their side. Mike tried to fight them off, he managed to land a few more kicks and keep them on distance, but not for long. He was pinned down to the cold, dirty concrete floor. Three held him down at his arms and legs and the fourth put his foot victoriously on Mike's chest. Mike’s lungs deflated from the pressure the foot put on his ribcage.  
“Look what we caught ourselves tonight,” the Vampire announced with a sardonic grin on his face and his fangs popped out in anticipation. “A hunter!”  
Mike desperately tried to move, to fight, to do something but he did not stand a chance. He was only human after all and that would be his death. This was his last battle, they would kill him and they would probably take their time. That would be more than a quick feed for those monsters, they would enjoy this, that was for sure.  
“Get him on his feet,” the vampire ordered and took his foot from Mike’s chest to allow his companions to drag Mike up, just to pin him against the nearest wall with one hand around Mike’s neck. The force of the blow made Mike cry out in pain, his back cracked dangerously and the hand on his neck nearly suffocated him.  
Again he tried to fight them, he did not want to die, not here, not now, not without ever knowing… His vision already started to blur around the edges and the last thing he saw were fangs coming very close, close enough to _feel_ the monster’s face touching his jawline. Mike was sick with disgust but already too muddled to really care. The hold around his neck abruptly disappeared. Mike fell hard to the floor, no reflexes left to curb the fall. His attacker was... gone. Gone? What the fuck?  
  
It took Mike seconds to realize that the vampire who had held him against the wall had somehow been torn away to the other side of the alley, the others seemed equally surprised, and when his mind had finally closed up with reality the Vampire was dead, Mike could still not see who was there but he could clearly see that the Vampire’s head was torn from its body. The other three finally reacted and sprang at their attacker. Mike was still crouching on the pavement, desperately trying to fill his lungs with air and get on his feet again. Whoever that was, he had just saved his life. Mike wanted to join the fight and kill the other Vampires. He dragged himself up to his feet and found his balance again, the sword back in his hands. He rushed over to help whoever had just helped him and quickly used the distraction the stranger provided to kill another of his attackers. Everything went very fast from there. Mike only saw that one of his attackers had obviously gotten hold of his wooden stake and rammed it into the stranger's body, but before Mike was able to react, he heard the unmistakable sound of crushing bones and torn flesh. He witnessed a bare hand ripping the Vampire’s heart from its chest. Shit! That was not good! The thought rushed through Mike's head. Then everything was over. The heart-amputated vampire dissipated in blood and tissue remains when the last one obviously decided it was time to leave and was gone so fast Mike’s eyes were not able to follow the movement. And only then he was able to fully descry the face of his mysterious savior and once he did he felt as if he was going to throw up. No, no, no, no that was impossible, that was a misunderstanding his brain was not working from the lack of oxygen!  
  
“Harvey,” he panted and his knees suddenly gave in. Mike was now kneeling in a dark dirty alley in front of the man he had fallen for with all his being and did not want to believe what he knew was true and just as if Harvey _wanted_ to take the last shred of doubt from him just like Harvey _wanted_ him to finally believe it, he took the wooden stake that was still buried in his chest, just not in his heart, and dragged it out of himself. Apparently he was in pain until the stake was fully removed and Mike could see, he could _watch_ the gaping wound disappear from Harvey’s skin.  
  
Mike was shaking. Shaking with shock and horror and disgust and he felt betrayed and lost and devastated all at the same time. He was unable to move, his brain refused with all its might to accept what his eyes had just seen. Harvey made an attempt to stand up, Mike immediately recoiled and tried to jump to his feet but Harvey moved very slowly and held his hands up in a defensive gesture, he knew better than try to get near the hunter.  
The fear and hatred that clouded Mike’s eyes killed him and he so desperately wished this would not have happened. How was this possible, how could he not have seen this? How could he have given himself to a hunter and yet he had and now he felt like dying only from the knowledge he had lost Mike forever. Harvey’s voice was shaking, he could not manage more than whispered “Mike…”  
  
"No, no, no, no… Don’t talk to me!" Mike shouted and frantically shook his head. He was not able to deal with this, he could not even understand. “Go away!” was all he was able to spit out and he could see it in Harvey’s eyes… he could see the pain but he did not care now… the abomination had gotten to him, had _kissed him_. "Leave or I swear to god I will kill you!”  
  
Harvey knew he had lost but at least he had been able to save Mike’s life for now and he left.  
Mike knew he had to get away before the Vampires might get the idea to return but he felt boneless, like all strength had left his body and all meaning of life had escaped him. With shaking knees he started to set one foot in front of the other, deaf and blind to the world around him.  
Back home in his apartment he finally gave in and collapsed right there on the floor behind the closed door. Still covered in blood he curled into a tiny ball and started shaking again. His heart hurt like nothing he had ever felt before in his life. It was the first time he thought he could not bear the pain. Why had he gone out hunting at all tonight? He should just have stayed in bed, he should have turned over and slept the rest of the night, maybe then he would never have known.  
He just lay there in the darkness of his apartment, numb and completely drained. Nothing was left, nothing. He would never set foot into the firm again, that was for sure, so he did not bother to move one limb to set his alarm until his exhausted body and mind took over and he fell into a coma-like sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Harvey got home at top speed, unfortunately he had to stop in a dark corner outside of his building to cross the lobby in an unsuspicious manner. He pulled the lapels of his suit jacket up and held them together in front of his chest hoping it looked just like he was freezing and his doorman would not recognize his blood-soaked and torn dress shirt. There was most likely also blood on his trousers but there was nothing he could do about that now. After receiving a polite greeting nod from the guy behind the clerk desk Harvey hurried to the elevator and finally reached the security of his penthouse. In the bathroom he threw his jacket away and just ripped the bloody dress shirt from his body before he heavily leaned his arms on the sink and his head dropped between his shoulders.  
How was this even possible? How could he not have noticed that… how should he have? It was not like being a vampire came with a radar for hunters. Mike was a hunter! His brilliant, beautiful, blue eyed associate was a hunter and he had fallen for him like a human, like an idiot… He had kissed him and had lost the ground under his feet! He needed to fix this!  
The sarcastic laughter that escaped his throat at that thought reverberated in his empty bathroom.  
This was beyond fixing! This could not be fixed. Mike Ross was a fucking _hunter_ , for god's sake! It would most likely not be wise to act at all. Mike's deepest instinct was to kill him, he should just stay away.  
A low guttural growl rose deep in Harvey's chest. He had not heard that sound from himself in ages it sounded more like an animal than anything else. The splintering of his bathroom mirror drowned out his feral growling and he welcomed the burning pain in his fist to distract him from the utter desperation that filled his chest. 

*****

Mike did not show up for work the next day – of course not. Harvey knew Mike would never come here again. He sat in his office, the chair turned to the window. Harvey preferred the direct sunlight hurting his eyes over anybody seeing him like this. Desperate.  
How could this have happened to him? Harvey could not stop asking himself this question. He could not imagine anything, anything more stupid than this. He could not stop thinking about the picture of Mike fighting, with all the strength and speed a hunter possessed, the silver sword whirling around in his hands and how effortlessly he had cut the other Vampire’s head of. Shit! Was this the reason he felt so drawn to the other man? Maybe he could somehow feel the power that lay within him, he just had not been able to tell what kind of power. 

*****

Mike opened his eyes again in the afternoon. His exhausted body had shut down for almost twelve hours and for a few blissful moments he did not remember what happened. Until everything came back and flooded his mind, making him jump to his feet. He realized he was still covered in blood and the hurt in his heart was back just as painful as it had been yesterday the second he recognized Harvey in the dark street, sitting there, bleeding from the stake wound. And again he saw Harvey ripping out the Vampire’s heart with his bare hand… The picture was so violent and merciless and primal in itself and it had been Harvey who had been doing this. Mike ripped his dirty clothes from his body and threw everything away with disgust before he stepped into his shower, desperate to wash off the remains of this nightmare. If only he could wash off his memories, too! Harvey was all he could think about and his thoughts where drawn back to their kiss. Harvey’s lips on his, his tongue in Mike’s mouth and how good it had felt, how he had melted under Harvey’s touch, unable to resist, unable to control his body… Fuck!... How could the touch of a creature like him feel so good… so right and perfect? He was a hunter, was he not supposed to feel if a monster touched him?  
It was over now. He would never set foot into the office of Pearson Hardman again and he would do what he was born to do and go back to some crappy job that would not stop him from hunting every night.  
For Mike, the next couple of days where a blur of blood and vampire goo. He practically went on a killing spree, no matter if it was day or night. He located a couple of nests outside the city and spent his days killing every single Vampire he found in those nests, waiting to just wander the streets of New York at night and look for something to kill. He was afraid to stop. Every time the rush of adrenalin subsided his thoughts had a chance to go back to Harvey, back to the alley where he had saved him and back to their kiss and how it had made him feel. His brain seemed to refuse to forget about all the good things, everything they had done and shared to win and how he had fallen for Harvey every day a little more.  
After hours of hunting Mike collapsed on his bed. Maybe sleep would have mercy and take over fast.  
His apartment door flew open just a few hours later with the loud sound of splintering wood. Three Vampires stormed in, too fast to locate them properly and in the blink of an eye Mike was pinned down, tied up and a black bag over his head was taking away the light. Mike had no chance. He tried to fight but then he felt a painful blow to his head and everything went dark.

It had been three days since Mike had found out. Harvey knew he had to give Mike space although it was hard to do nothing. At some point he needed to talk to Mike one last time. Harvey could not stand to leave it that way between them.  
Something was off-kilter, Harvey could feel it in his guts while he was sitting on one of the luxurious loungers on his deck with an unusually big glass of scotch and listening to the city. The last time he had had this strange feeling echoing through his body Mike was in trouble and he was sure that was exactly what was happening now. Harvey had no idea why he was somehow connected to Mike like this, he had never experienced something like that before but now was not the time to find out, he had to get to Mike. Mike, who did not want to see him. Harvey debated inwardly what he should do now, but one thing was clear, he needed to check on Mike, he needed to know if he was okay. He did not even have to enter the building, he would be able to hear if Mike was there and that would be all he needed, hear that Mike was fine. No big deal.  
Only, when Harvey reached the sidewalk in front of Mike's building there was nothing to hear. Mike's apartment was empty.  
Okay, so if Mike was not at home it would be safe to take a look around. Maybe he’d be able to detect something that could tell him where Mike was.  
Mike's door stood wide open and there had obviously been a fight.  
Harvey lingered on the threshold and looked over the chaos that was Mike's apartment: The bed sheets piled on the floor, a lamp had fallen down and shattered and the couch stood slightly askew. Something bad had happened here. At least he knew Mike was still alive since he was not able to enter his apartment. As long as the owner of a place was alive, every Vampire needed his explicit permission to enter and Harvey had never been inside Mike's home before.

A faint noise in the hallway alarmed him and it took Harvey only a fraction of a second to pin the intruder against the wall next to Mike’s door. He held him tight around his neck, inches above the floor. It was a Vampire and he was trying to get away from Harvey, hissing and growling and showing his fangs in a worthless attempt to fight him off. Harvey closed his grip only tighter around the neck. "Shut up or I am going to rip your head off! Right! Now," he pressed through his gritted teeth.  
Finally the guy went quiet and stopped struggling, Harvey allowed the Vampire's feet to touch the ground again but he did not let go off his neck. His eyes burned dangerously when he demanded answers with a threatening growl in his voice. "What are you doing here? What happened?"  
A sardonical smile grew on the other Vampire's face and Harvey loosened his grip enough to allow him to speak.  
“We were waiting for you, Specter... and if you want to see your hunter boy again you’d better come with me… There is someone who’d like to speak with you.”

Harvey could feel a tight knot forming in his stomach. Somebody had captured Mike and that person knew about him! He forced himself to calm down and let go of the other Vampire’s neck.  
“Very good,” the guy grinned, “let’s go, Specter.”  
Down in the street a black limousine was already waiting and the driver wordlessly opened the door for them. Harvey kept quiet and avoided to look at the guy in front of him. If he weren’t necessary to bring Harvey to Mike Harvey would have gladly wiped the grin of his face – including the guy’s face.

The car stopped in a rather shady neighborhood in front of an old and abandoned looking building. Harvey followed the man inside and down some stairs into the cellar.  
They entered a damp room and a familiar obnoxious voice greeted him.  
“So you are the Vampire who chose a human over his own kind? Even worse: A hunter! “  
It was Tanner who was crossing the room while he was speaking and stopped right in front of Harvey.  
Tanner’s voice was dripping with disgust and the way he pressed out the word _hunter_ between clenched teeth was nothing but pure poison.

Harvey tried to act utterly unimpressed. Hands in his pockets, he held Tanners gaze and once shrugged his shoulders.  
"And why does that concern you?"

“Because, Harvey, you killed _my_ guys, I turned them and they worked for me. You know, I figured out the hunter weeks ago, I mean we knew his face but we did not know where to find him… not yet. The boy is good at his job."  
Harvey could not help but smile a very faint but definitely proud smile. Of course he was good… he was Mike!  
Travis kept on talking.  
“Imagine my surprise when I saw him at your office… and even better! Your associate! And as the cherry on top you obviously had no idea!”  
Tanner enjoyed this whole thing far too much. Harvey wished fervently he could just burry his fist in Tanner's smug face but he still was not clear where this was going and where Mike was so he kept his unworried facade and asked, seemingly uninterested:  
"And what are you going to do now, Travis. You’re going to kill _me?_ "  
Again, this shit eating grin on Tanner's face. He obviously could not wait to stick it to Harvey.  
“Oh no, no, no. I am not killing a five hundred year old Vampire for three babies who could not defend themselves.”  
A dangerous, cocky smirk spread on his face.  
“See, I had had no idea what the boy meant to you until you played Batman in a dark alley and saved his live… so I decided I'd rather finally kill the hunter and invite you to the show."  
Two of his Vampire followers entered, dragging Mike along between them. His hands were tied up and a big cut on his left eyebrow was still bleeding heavily. Mike stared hat Harvey in shock and disbelief.

Did he suspect Harvey had a part in this?  
Harvey met Mike's gaze and tried to somehow tell him that he had nothing to do with that and that he would get them out of here somehow but he had no idea if Mike was even interested in what he tried to tell him... probably not.  
"Oh, and listen to the boy’s heart now. He sees you and it flutters like a little insect..." Tanner mocked and came dangerously close to Harvey.  
"I guess if your heart was still beating in there..." he poked Harvey's chest hard enough to leave a bulge in his suit jacket, "it would beat just as fast as his now... am I right, Harvey?"  
Harvey stared at the spot where Tanner had creased his suit and raised his eyes, locking gazes with him again, while his harangue went on:  
"Oh, that is just too delicious! You are in love with a hunter! That is so cruel it could almost be my idea! Oh, I just love fate... She is such a bitch."  
Harvey did not move, still trying to act unconcerned, although Tanner had hit the bull’s eye and for the first time in hundreds of years he was actually glad that his body did not work anymore and did not give him away, but his thoughts where running like crazy.  
Tanner was either very self-opinionated or just too happy to stick it to Harvey to think about restraining him in any way so Harvey had a few options.  
Killing Tanner was doable but he was not alone. Besides the two guys holding Mike, Harvey was able to hear at least four more somewhere in the building. He was strong but very likely not _that_ strong. Maybe if Mike was free and able to fight they could take them down. Mike would surely fight if not for Harvey then at least for his own life.  
He had only seconds to decide what to do and how to act. In the far corner of the room he spotted an old broomstick that had been clearly forgotten there many years ago.  
It took only a tenth of a second and the two Vampires next to Mike fell to the ground, each of them with half a broomstick in their hearts.  
Tanner obviously hadn’t seen that coming. He stared at Harvey with true surprise and just like Harvey had expected the rest of Tanner’s gang was in the room with them only seconds after they had heard the clamor.  
Mike was quick on his feet Harvey had ripped his fetters from his arms they both grabbed one of the wooden stakes and started fighting.  
Tanner's stupid grin left his face when his Vampires went down one by one until only he was left. Deeply satisfied Harvey noticed that Tanner was beginning to realize that he had lost his bodyguards and was facing them alone now.  
“Well fought, Harvey, but I am not going to die today.”  
Before Harvey could foresee his next move or do anything about it Mike fell down to the floor.  
“You can either chase me or save your boy’s life. Good bye, Harvey.”  
Harvey did not pay any more attention to him. He quickly kneeled down next to Mike to see what exactly had hurt him and only then he realized that Tanner had somehow gotten hold of a piece of metal tube and had thrown it right into Mike`s abdomen. The metal almost completely pierced through Mike’s body and Mike was gasping for air, his lung already filling with blood, Harvey could hear it bubbling.  
Mike looked at him with wide terrified eyes, his hands clinging to the tube, and Harvey could hear he was running out of time quickly. There was no time for explanations now or Mike would die within minutes.  
He took Mike’s face into his hands and looked him deep in the eyes. He could only hope Mike was still conscious enough to understand.  
“Mike, you have to trust me now! I can save you but we don’t have time. Please, Mike, don’t fight me right now, please.”  
Harvey closed one hand around the metal and pried it free, making Mike scream in pain and causing him to lose blood even more quickly. So Harvey showed his fangs and tore the arteries along his wrist wide open. Harvey needed his blood and a lot of it, as fast as possible and he needed a big wound because otherwise it would close too fast.  
Mike’s eyes were still open and Harvey was actually surprised to see him still conscious.  
“Drink. Quick.”  
And he pressed his arm to Mike’s lips, forcing him to drink, and Mike swallowed. Harvey could tell Mike's body fought him for the first moments, he squirmed and trembled heavily until the reflex seemed to stop and he drank in deep even gulps.  
“Good boy,” Harvey mumbled, relieved.  
It took only a few moments until Harvey could see that his blood worked. The more Mike drank the more the wound in his abdomen closed. Harvey heard the bubbling in his lunges subsiding and his heartbeat growing stronger again.  
It needed unusually much but finally the wound was gone and Mike’s body sounded normal again, his pulse was week but steady and a few moments later Mike forced his eyes open and mumbled: “Harvey, please get me out of here!”  
It was ridiculous how happy that made him! Hearing his name again from Mike's lips and Mike allowing him to help... Hopefully it was not just Mike's momentarily weakness speaking.  
“Are you sure?”  
Mike nodded weakly, he looked so pale and his forehead was damp with sweat. “Yes, please… just get me out of here.” He closed his eyes again and let himself sink back into Harvey`s arm. Harvey lifted Mike effortlessly from the ground and carried him outside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and your nice words about my little Vampire adventure!

Harvey could move fast enough to not be caught by any human’s eye and that even while carrying another person. Although he was feeling a little weak since Mike had taken a lot of his blood he was still strong enough for the run back to his place and that was where he took Mike who had passed out in Harvey's arms. Mike’s body had almost died and then it had been quickly repaired, drained of blood and filled up again, now it demanded rest.  
Harvey took the first possibility to carefully lower Mike onto the black leather sofa in the living room and stripped him down to his briefs. He just could not stand the thought of letting Mike sleep in blood soaked clothes. Harvey concentrated on his task and made it as quick and as possible, covering Mike with a warm blanket afterwards. The clothes were beyond rescue same was true for his own and Harvey disposed of the bloody pile right away. After showering he put on some comfortable clothes and went to his fridge where he hungrily emptied two of the blood bags he kept in there. Mike was still completely passed out so Harvey poured himself a big glass of Whiskey and opened the door to his deck in the bedroom. 

What a night! Now, back in the security of his home, he finally was able to think about what had happened. He had killed his own kind – again, but that did not really bother him. He had not had an alternative to save Mike and he would do it again. Again some kind of strange bond had told him Mike had been in trouble... Why the hell had that happened again? And now Mike was in his home, sleeping on his couch. What was going to happen when he woke up? What if he hated Harvey for bringing him here – well, was it even possible that Mike could hate him any more than he already did? Maybe when he remembered that he had taken Harvey's blood.  
Harvey had been too worried, too afraid at that moment but now, when he recalled Mike drinking his blood, now he shivered with pleasure but at the same time he feared Mike's reaction to this memory. With the empty glass in his hand he returned inside and put it down on his nightstand. He needed to sleep now. He might be immortal but he was not indestructible and his body needed rest, too. Harvey went to bed and hoped Mike would at least do him the courtesy of not killing him in his sleep. 

*****

In the early morning light Mike came back to his senses. Before he opened his eyes and moments before he had his first conscious thought he perceived that he was somewhere unfamiliar, some place that was not his bed and not his apartment, it was somewhere he had not woken up before.  
When the haziness was gone, he left the lingering peaceful stage between sleep and awakening with a complete picture of the past events and sat up with a jerk. Alarmed, hands gripping the backrest of his makeshift bed and eyes wide open, he scanned his surroundings.  
It was peaceful in the quiet airy apartment that just started to slowly fill with daylight. Nothing moved, nothing made any kind of sound and Mike's alarmed senses were brought down as quickly as they had fired up. 

This was where Harvey lived? Mike had thought that a Vampire would prefer a little less sunlight in his ... well, home. What had he expected? A black painted crypt with a Gucci coffin and a rack of designer suits? Mike scoffed about his own ridiculousness. The giggle died in his throat the moment he realized that he had been undressed. Then he remembered… given the state of his clothes it was probably a reasonable choice, also considering that this place was unbelievably neat. His bloody clothes would have ruined the soft and undoubtedly extremely expensive leather of the sofa and the soft wool of the blanket that was covering him. Mike had to smile about that thought in context to a Vamp... no…to Harvey that fitted perfectly. Mike still thought of him as Harvey. The man who had turned his civilian life completely around, had only done good things for him and saved his life in more than one way, even before he had literally saved it twice.  
Mike had tried to cut him out of his heart but it had been impossible. He could not bring himself to think of Harvey as a _thing_ or a monster. He had tried that, tried with all his might, but he had failed.

He decided to get up and see if he could find the bathroom. After opening two doors that led to a home office and a closet he finally found the guest room and along with it the guest bathroom. A pile of fresh clothes on the bed made him grin like an idiot: Harvey had totally foreseen what Mike was going to do, unless of course, he kept a pair of black briefs and sweat pants with a grey t-shirt on his guest bed at all times, just in case. Still smiling he took the clothes and went into the bathroom where he stopped in front of the mirror to take a look at himself. There were still traces of dried blood in his hair, his chest and belly had smears on them where the blood had soaked his clothes but besides that there was not one single scratch on him. Even the bruises from the past weeks had disappeared. Mike's hand wandered to the spot where Tanner had driven the metal into his body. He had nearly bled to death! His body had been impaled, organs had been ripped apart and now there was nothing.  
Staring at his healed body he remembered the feeling when Harvey had pressed his wrist to his mouth and fed Mike his blood. For a few seconds his instinct had fought Harvey. The hunter’s body wanted to reject it and tried to throw the blood up again but Mike knew it was his only chance to survive and it was _Harvey_! He had desperately focused on _that_ , forced his body to take it down, to drink the blood, _Harvey's_ blood. Mike closed his eyes and shuddered under the memory, gripping the edge of the sink to stabilize his shaky knees. The look in Harvey's eyes! Mike would never be able to forget that! Harvey's eyes had been even darker than usual, almost completely black, and he had looked at Mike with a mixture of fear and awe and... Shit! Mike pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned in frustration because he could not stop his heart from speeding up when he thought about Harvey.

After he had washed away the blood and dressed in fresh clothes Mike felt much better. He went back into the living room where he was greeted by the smell of coffee and Harvey standing at the open balcony door, sipping on a steaming mug.  
The picture was so oddly normal Mike almost forgot for one second that the man was not human… not anymore.  
Harvey turned around to look at Mike and Mike's heart jumped in his chest. Even in only a plain white Henley and jeans Harvey looked unbelievably handsome. Harvey’s lips curled up with just a hint of a smile, a _knowing_ smile.

Shit! Of course, Harvey was totally able to hear his heart jump and he probably could even hear his goosebumps rising.  
"Morning, Mike. How are you feeling?"  
He walked over to the kitchen and held out another mug of steaming coffee to Mike. He immediately went over to take it and leaned slightly against the counter, face to face with Harvey. An unsolicited warning shot through his mind: He should have left the counter in between them instead of walking around it, but he suppressed the reflex as fast as it had risen and answered Harvey's question instead.

"I feel... good …" Mike lowered his eyes and stared into the black liquid in his mug before he said, subdued: "Thank you, Harvey…you saved me... Again"  
Mike's eyes did not leave the coffee, as if he hoped the coffee would whisper the answers to all the questions he held within him.  
"I am glad that Tanner was stupid enough to bring me there." Harvey answered, keeping his tone conversational.  
Mike nodded absentmindedly, something had been bugging him since their last encounter and he had not expected to ever talk to Harvey again to get an explanation but now he wanted to know.

"The first time in the alley... How did you know where I was? You're not telling me it was bye chance, do you? Were you following me, did you know...?"  
Mike finally looked up again and observed Harvey refilling his mug and returning to the counter before he shrugged and admitted:  
"I don't know. I just had a weird feeling that night, I didn't specifically look for you I just knew something was going happen. I only realized it when I saw you there – fighting. No, Mike, I did not know back then, just the way you didn't."

Mike took another sip from his coffee before he looked at Harvey like he needed to process what he had just heard. He closed the distance between him and Harvey with a few tentative steps and put his mug down before he spoke again.  
"Why did you help me when you realized who I was?"

Harvey looked as if he had been slapped. His dark gaze fixed on Mike, his eyes roamed over Mike's face like he was looking for something, like he was trying to understand the question. His voice was very calm and yet Mike could hear the disbelief in it.  
"Are you honestly surprised I did not watch you getting killed?"

Mike did not respond, suddenly ashamed that he had doubted Harvey, and yet the question had been on his mind and yes, he had automatically assumed the worst. Mike lowered his eyes and swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. Harvey exhaled deeply and set down his own mug before he spoke again, unable to hide the disappointment that accompanied his words.

"I see... The abomination is not supposed to have a heart... I actually thought you knew me better, Mike. After everything we’ve gone through how can you only think for one second that I would not save your life over and over again? Mike… you know who I am... I am the same man I was before you saw me pulling that stake out of my guts!"  
Harvey's last sentence sounded more like a like a plea than anything else and Mike's throat felt so tight now he barely managed to answer. He looked at Harvey again and croaked: "You have no idea how desperately I want to believe that!"

Neither of them moved. It seemed as if they were stuck, frozen in this ridiculously fucked up situation, unable to act. Each of them afraid of how the other might react. In the end Harvey broke the silence, shaking his head in defeat. 

"Why of all people in the world do _you_ have to be a hunter? I know your inner being is repulsing me, I know everything inside of you must be screaming to kill me... Even now. Tanner was right... Fate is a cruel thing..." He ran his hands through his hair and paused for a brief moment before he let them fall down again. "You can leave freely, Mike, I won't stop you and I won't cross your path again. I just wanted you to know, I _needed_ you to know: I am no threat to you. I could never harm you."

Mike's heart hurt like it was literally breaking in his chest. No, no, no, he could not stand to leave now, he could not stand seeing the sadness in Harvey's eyes and hear the defeat, hear him admit that _this_ was hopeless, that _they_ were hopeless. Yes, it was completely hopeless, nonetheless it was all he wanted right now and all he could think about right now was how much he wanted to be with Harvey, to feel again what he had felt when they had kissed. 

His instinct told him not to do this, not to touch him, but his heart did not follow and his body chose to feel the same irresistible pull towards Harvey he had felt before... before he knew... and so Mike took a careful step forward and another and reached out to take Harvey's hand into both of his. Even this innocent contact raised gooseflesh on the nape of Mike's neck, his body warning him to defend himself, but at the same time it was overwhelming to touch Harvey, to be _allowed_ to do so, even more to be the one Harvey wanted. 

Mike knew his hands were trembling when he slowly turned Harvey's hand around to expose his wrist and the pale skin of his lower arm.  
Harvey remained totally still, he just watched what was happening, apprehensive, eyes full of disbelief, his gaze glued to his own hand in Mike's.  
Mike tenderly caressed the skin where Harvey had torn his arteries open to feed him. He softly followed the lines of Harvey’s veins with his fingertips and he heard Harvey inhale sharply through his nose.

Harvey's reaction to his small touch made Mike shiver. He wanted more of that, he wanted to be the reason Harvey’s breath hitched. The humanity of this reaction made Mike smile inwardly because Harvey did not need to breathe anymore yet his body kept the reflex up and Harvey still expressed feelings through it.  
Mike brought Harvey's wrist to his lips and breathed a kiss on his imaginary pulse point, his lips barely touching the skin, before he whispered: "I owe you my life." And he pressed another soft kiss next to the first one.  
The tender touch of Mike's lips sent a wave of desire through Harvey's entire body and he had to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment. How could such a small touch affect him like that?

The tip of Mike's tongue explored his skin now, followed by small kisses, and Harvey needed every ounce of self-control to stay calm although he was barely able to think straight under the siege of feelings Mike unleashed in him.  
Harvey brought his free hand up to touch Mike's face. He still moved gingerly, giving Mike time to escape if he wanted to but Mike did not move. He held Harvey’s gaze and leaned lightly into Harvey’s cool touch, he even turned his face just a little to be able to gently kiss the palm that was cupping his cheek.  
Harvey pulled Mike closer and leaned forward until their foreheads met.

"I thought I'd lose you there on the floor of that cellar, Mike... I don't know what I would have done if he'd killed you..."  
Mike reached out and rested one flat hand over Harvey’s heart or the spot where it was supposed to beat in his chest. He let out a shaky breath.  
"What are we doing, Harvey? This is not supposed to happen!"  
Harvey placed a gentle hand over Mike's. It was true but there was no turning back, not for him.  
"I know."

Oh god, how much he wanted to kiss Mike again, but it had to be Mike who crossed the last bridge between them, he needed Mike to decide this, so he held back and forced himself to not press his lips to Mike's warm beautiful mouth. They stood there, foreheads leaning against each other and Mike's hands on Harvey's chest, when Mike asked: "The first time we kissed… when I did not know what… _who_ you are… why did you not... I mean you could have had me, just like that, you know?"  
Harvey leaned back again to be able to look into Mike's eyes and this time he took Mike's face firmly into both of his hands:  
"Mike, I wanted you more than anything in the world. It was almost too hard to do, _not_ to have you right there and then, but I wanted you to know first. I wanted you to know and still want me… even before I kissed you for the first time I never considered you as just another conquest and then... When we kissed it only showed me that I was right about you and that I _wanted_ you to know...."

Harvey`s voice almost betrayed him and he needed to pause and swallow hard before he could go on, or try to go on, although he was not even sure what more he could say, and Mike who was listening with wide eyed wonder came close, so close Harvey could feel his warm breath on his lips and he heard Mike's heart race in his chest and his blood rush through his body. 

Mike lingered there to breathe against Harvey`s mouth "I still want you", and Mike sealed his lips to Harvey's and willingly opened them to let him in. Harvey was still unable to fathom why and when and how Mike's touch could overwhelm him like it did. An unstoppable wave of desire and want and need shot through his body only from kissing him. He was burning up under Mike's hand on his chest and Mike's fingers on the back of his neck. How could something he had done a million times suddenly leave him helplessly consumed? Harvey closed his strong arms around Mike’s body to pull him close and a deep gravely growl vibrated through his chest when Mike let himself melt into him and welcomed Harvey’s devouring kiss.

Harvey slipped his hands under Mike’s shirt and ran his palm up and down the warm, muscular back. He covered every inch of skin from Mike's tailbone up to his shoulder blades and let one hand return to Mike’s waist while he was drowning in Mike's scent and the warmth that radiated from his body. He could feel every muscle under Mike's skin, every shiver that ran through him and how much he wanted that, how often had he imagined having Mike under his hands but he could never have imagined _that!_  
Mike found himself again burning with desire. His heart thundered enough for the two of them and Harvey’s hands on his skin filled his body and mind with nothing but _more_ and Harvey! His blood was humming, his mind flooded with... Nothing, nothing else mattered anymore besides the need for Harvey's touch. He did not want to stop even for a second but he had to break free to be able to shove Harvey’s shirt up and pull it over his head to finally get as close to him as possible. Harvey used the short interruption to get rid of Mike's shirt as well only to crush their lips together again right away. When their naked chests finally met, skin on skin, Mike heard himself moan from the sensation. 

Mike reluctantly dragged their mouths apart, he needed to breathe, to stop for just a second and regain control over his senses. He felt as if he was falling, as if he was drowning, as if he was being sucked into something bigger than him, stronger than him. He murmured breathlessly: "Why... Why does this feel like so much more? Like nothing I ever felt before..?"

Harvey inhaled deeply and closed his eyes for a moment; like this was all he had hoped to hear or never expected to hear before he looked at Mike again.  
"I don't know... All I know is that I can never let you go again..."  
Mike was aware that this should feel more like a threat to him, given what they were, but instead his whole body shivered hearing Harvey's promise and Mike kissed him again in agreement. This was what he wanted, it was all he wanted, this was Harvey and nothing more and nothing less. His wonderful, gorgeous, quick minded Harvey, the man that was the closest thing to perfection that he knew.

One fraction of a second later Mike found himself flat on Harvey’s bed. The sudden change of surroundings startled him for a brief moment but Harvey was there on top of him, already undressed down to his briefs, and mouthed against Mike's ear: "Couldn't wait any longer…" Harvey's hand slipped inside Mike's pants and every reply escaped Mike's brain. Harvey's thumb followed the line where his thighs met his torso and Mike automatically spread his legs for him. Harvey's lips found a nipple and sucked gently while his hand closed around Mike's throbbing erection. 

This…This… Harvey's hand on his already achingly hard cock melted every fuse in Mike's brain, he knew he was stammering incoherently as he practically crawled into Harvey`s body, desperate to be touched. 

"I want you so much," Harvey whispered against the shell of Mike's ear. This whispered confession, this plea from Harvey's lips took away the last shred of hesitation that might still have been there and Mike admitted: "You have me...you have had me all the time," and he really needed to kiss him now, kiss Harvey with all he had in him.  
Harvey let go of Mike's cock and pushed himself up to free Mike from his pants and when Mike was finally naked he took his time to admire the view.  
Mike in his bed, pliant and worked up, pupils blown, cheeks flushed and heavy lidded eyes lingering on Harvey's body, hard for him and leaking pre-come in anticipation for him.  
Mike's eyes did not leave Harvey's face when he slowly peeled himself out of the sheets and got onto his knees to be face to face with him, to kiss Harvey's mouth and along his jawline and down his throat. Harvey bent his head back to give him more access and Mike took the invitation, made Harvey's skin crawl under his tongue and they both groaned deeply as their cocks slid together between them. Mike did not stop licking and kissing down his body, his hands on Harvey’s sides his tongue finding Harvey's nipples and again Harvey moaned and his gaze hungrily followed Mike down the length of his body. 

Harvey fell back, he needed one hand on the mattress to keep him up and his other hand buried deep in Mike's hair he watched Mike kissing down his chest running his fingers over every one of his ribs and lower, lower, until his thumb stroked over his hipbones, causing Harvey to arch his back in desperation for more, unable to tear his eyes away from Mike.  
Harvey's reaction was all Mike needed. He was doing this! He was making Harvey writhe and moan, was making him buck his hips in pleasure! Mike wanted more of that, it drove him crazy with desire and made his cock twitch and leak. Somewhere back in his muddled mind he knew he should be nervous, he should be at least a little afraid but there was nothing like that, there was only the thrill of Harvey losing his composure. Everything about Harvey's body amazed him, everything was beautiful and perfect and there was nothing Mike could not imagine doing to him, nothing he did not want to do to him.

Harvey could not stop his hips from rolling forward like he was begging Mike to touch him, to feel what he was doing to him. Mike hooked his fingers into Harvey's waistband and then Mike's tongue was there licking unabashedly over the tip of Harvey's achingly hard erection and he could not hold back the deep moan that rolled through his chest when Mike slowly took him in his mouth, pushing the fabric further down along the way. Fire shot through his veins, his body arched back and when Mike closed his lips tightly around his cock and took him in even deeper, Harvey realized he could not take that for very long so he pulled Mike back up to his face, whispering against his lips:  
"I want to be inside of you when I come."  
There it was, a small flicker in Mike's lust filled eyes that made Harvey suddenly realize. His guts clenched in surprise and he pulled away just enough to be able to lift Mike's chin with his thumb and forefinger and make him look straight into his eyes:  
"Have you done this before?"  
Mike's hands closed around Harvey's arms.  
"Have I been with a man before? No, Harvey, I haven't" Mike's already blown eyes grew even darker now as he went on his voice gravely, "but I want to be with you and yes, I want it all.” 

Harvey's stomach tightened even more when he realized what Mike was telling him, what Mike was giving him. He realized it but he could not even begin to fathom the entire meaning. Mike's hand fell on his back and he pulled Harvey close once more, rocking their cocks together again, and his thoughts drowned in his passion. He claimed Mike's lips and licked deep in his mouth while he lowered them back onto the bed and grabbed the lube from his nightstand.  
Mike wanted him and he would gladly obey. 

Harvey bowed down to pull Mike into a devouring kiss and let his hands roam over Mike's body, trailing down to the inside of his thigh, and gently pushed his legs further apart to reach for his hole. He carefully dragged his generously lubed fingers over the tight muscle again and again, increasing the pressure, and never stopped kissing him, swallowing Mike's soft moans directly from his lips until he could tell Mike wanted more. Harvey was trembling hard against his own desire and finally pushed one finger inside, incredibly turned on by how Mike felt and by the imagination of how it would feel to be inside of him. He could not remember when he had ever been this hard and yet he would rather get no relief at all than to rush Mike and risk hurting him. He waited until his finger slipped in and out easily before he added the second one, he waited until Mike moved with him, until he took his fingers with pleasure and demanded more, he waited and worked Mike open until he could feel it was enough and neither of them were willing and able to wait any longer, only then he withdrew his fingers and stopped their kiss to settle a little more between Mike's legs, to push his thighs even further apart with his knees, and looked at Mike. He wanted to look him in the eyes when he entered him, he wanted to see every tiny reaction.

Mike was beyond forming words, he just reached for Harvey's sides, pulling him close to urge him forward, and Harvey pushed in as slowly as he could manage, all his senses concentrated on Mike, focused on every tiny move of Mike's body and on keeping himself under control. Mike's hands clawed into the sheets and his heart raced and he had his eyes squeezed shut when Harvey passed his tight entrance, so Harvey stilled and lowered himself down to Mike's face, making sure he would hear him when he whispered: "Breathe." And as if Mike had not even realized he had stopped he let out the breath he was holding and inhaled deeply. "Open your eyes, Mike, look at me." And he slipped his hand under Mike's lower back to be able to lift him into his movement. 

Harvey locked his eyes with Mike and buried himself deeper, still going slow but steadily, the feeling of Mike closing tightly around him ripped a deep growl from his chest. A few moments they just lay there, adjusting, breathing, regaining back a minimum of their senses, Mike's hands let go of the sheets and trailed down Harvey's back and his legs spread a little wider to get Harvey even closer and now Harvey started moving. Thrusting into Mike, entering him again and again was addictive, Harvey could not remember the last time another body had felt like that, had made him feel like that, like he could never get enough, like he never wanted to stop doing this.  
Mike was panting hard now, welcoming his every move hungrily, meeting his thrusts, and Harvey pried is hand free from underneath to take Mike's throbbing cock in his hand, knowing that neither of them would be able to last very much longer. His own climax was building rapidly but he wanted Mike to come first, he wanted to see him fall apart in his arms. It took only a few more strokes until Harvey could sense Mike was there, going rigid underneath him, and Mike came in Harvey's fist, spurting between their bodies, fingers digging deep in Harvey's sides and taking him away with him.

Harvey's orgasm ripped through him with unexpected violence, filling Mike with his own come took him completely apart, shook his body down to the core and he was left with absolutely nothing to hold on to and right there in his complete uncontrollable bliss... his fangs popped out... It was unstoppable, completely unconscious, and he only realized what had happened when it was already too late. He froze. He panicked. Shit, shit, shit! No! He did not want that to happen, that was not the best time to remind Mike so visibly of this, him. Harvey turned his head to the side in a fruitless attempt to hide and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to regain control. He fought down the burning dismay that rose in his stomach and closed around his chest.

A few torturing moments it was utterly quiet, nothing happened, only Mike’s ragged breathing filled the air between them until Mike's warm hand touched his face, gentle and soft, it rested on his cheek and he dared to open his eyes again. Mike's face was close to his and his bright blue eyes showed no sign of repulsion or fear. They looked at him with openness and trust and full of ...love. Mike let his thumb run slowly over Harvey's lips, following his cupid's bow, and brushed over his fangs along the way. Harvey's entire body trembled under the impossibility of how much love he could see in Mike’s eyes and fathom in this small gesture and Mike parted his lips to whisper: "It's okay. Don't worry, I am still here and I will be as long as you want me to."

Harvey's chest grew impossibly tight. That was even more than he could have ever imagined. That was Mike who was born to hate him, who was destined to kill him, telling him he had nothing to fear, nothing at all. Harvey was too overwhelmed to speak. He grabbed hold of Mike and sat back on his heels taking him up with him so he sat in his lap and Harvey could hold him tight, buried his face in the curve of Mike's neck and his hand in the back of his head to hold him close. Mike's legs wrapped around his waist and Harvey couldn't stop shivering when Mike started to kiss along his throat and down to his collarbone and up again, licking and kissing every inch of his skin.  
Mike's voice was a seductive purr against the shell of his ear: "I want you to drink from me from now on. I never want you to taste anyone else again besides me."  
Harvey could not believe what he had just heard and yet a possessive groan rose in his chest and a new wave of arousal claimed his body at the mere thought of Mike's blood in his mouth. He could feel himself getting hard again between their joint bodies and Mike did not miss a beat to roll his hips into him in encouragement moaning, softly against Harvey's ear. 

As much as Harvey wanted it, as much as he craved for Mike, he needed reassurance, he needed to hear it again so badly: "Mike ... Are you sure... You don't have to do that... I would never... I..."  
He found himself unable to form coherent sentences, needing all of his will-power to hold back, to hold back the unspeakable desire that was burning through him right now. The unspeakable want to take what was being offered to him. Mike had offered him everything and he wanted to have him whole. Nobody had ever had Mike like that and nobody else ever would. Harvey deliberately soaked in a deep breath, he needed something to concentrate on, to make sure this was what Mike wanted.

This time it was Mike who took Harvey's face in his hands and made him look into his eyes. Harvey could see nothing but trust in them and suddenly he felt so small compared to this human. How could he? How could he trust him like that? He was not worth all this trust, he had done unforgivable things in his life and he would give everything right now to be able to say that he hadn't.  
"Yes, Harvey, I am sure. I want to give you that and I want to be yours… all of me."  
"Mine... You are mine," Harvey growled.  
"Yes."  
The kiss was all-consuming, Mike writhed in his lap, rolled his hips to rub their cocks together in a maddening rhythm until they both were achingly hard again. Then Harvey broke the kiss and his lips slid down Mike's throat, exploring it with sloppy kisses. Mike's entire body arched back, he bent his head to the side to give Harvey more space. Harvey could see the blood running through Mike’s vein right under the soft skin, he could smell the sweet perfume of endorphins and adrenalin and he let his tongue caress Mike's pulse point, enjoying the deep moan he elicited and then, only one heartbeat before Harvey was about to taste him, Mike ordered softly:  
"Go lower, I want to keep them."

Harvey was done. The image of Mike wandering around with his bite marks on him was too much to take and Harvey broke through Mike's skin and sank his teeth into his bloodstream. A small hiss and Mike's hand tightening around his biceps marked the moment Harvey opened the vein and Harvey pressed Mike close to his body, as close as possible, and then only a heartbeat later Mike relaxed in his arms.  
Harvey drank slowly, he did not intend to take much, not even enough to let Mike feel the loss. This was not about hunger, this was pure intimacy, this was taking all of Mike in a way nobody would ever do again.

Mike knew Harvey was gentle. He had seen bodies with their throats ripped wide open as if a wild animal had attacked them. He knew what a Vampire could do with his fangs if he wanted to but this was just... incredible. Only the moment when Harvey had pierced through his flesh had hurt for a second, now it felt unbelievably arousing in its unknown intimacy. The way Harvey held him tight against his strong body, one hand buried in his hair to keep him still, and yet Harvey's hips rolling in a steady waving rhythm while he drank his blood, owning him completely, made Mike moan with desire.  
Harvey effortlessly lifted Mike just enough to be able to enter him again. Mike thought he was ready to burst out of his skin from the sensual overload coursing through his body. Harvey was everywhere and everything he could feel and think. He knew this was it. He would never be able to step away from this ever again.  
Just when Harvey wrapped his hand tight around his erection and Mike could do nothing more but pant and moan Harvey pulled his teeth out and licked over the marks he had left before he whispered hoarsely into Mike's ear: "You taste so good, Mike, so good… and you feel so amazing... Mike..."  
Harvey's words shot through him like a wildfire and he came again between their bodies. 

*****

Hours later Mike woke up and found the bed empty. A glance at the watch beside the bed told him it was two in the morning and he got out of the bed to find out what was going on. After a quick shower he had fallen asleep wrapped tight in Harvey's arms so he was at least wearing briefs when he stepped into dark living room. The city outside was full of lights therefore it never went really dark in the apartment. Mike found the glass doors to the balcony wide open.  
Harvey stood on his deck shirtless and looked over the city. Mike knew he had probably already heard him when he left the bed but Harvey did not turn around so he stepped outside and wrapped his arms around Harvey's waist and rested his chin on his naked shoulder.  
Harvey leaned lightly into Mike's embrace and his voice sounded apologetic: "Even after five hundred years the night makes me restless. I can feel it in my body, it runs through my veins and makes me anxious."

Mike gently kissed his shoulder and realized there were still a few things he did not know about Harvey's species: "Do you even need to sleep?"  
Harvey chuckled low in his throat before he turned around without withdrawing from Mike's embrace.  
"Yes, I have to rest, even I cannot work twelve or more hours and be awake all night. My body needs a little rest, too. I can feel tired and exhausted just like you do."  
Mike nodded, not meeting Harvey's eyes.

"I guess I don't know everything about Vampires." Mike cast down his eyes, his subdued tone made it sound like a confession.  
"What is bothering you," Harvey asked gently.  
"After tonight, after you... How can I go on being a hunter?” Mike shook his head, lost in his thoughts for a few quiet moments before he was able to utter his confusion. “How can I go out there and just kill them all... I mean... Without doubting myself and asking if that one even deserves it?”  
Harvey kissed him softly before he answered.

"You don't have to decide that right now, Mike, but that's what you are, you are the predator to the predators and if you think you do this because everyone one of them... of us... has killed innocent people, has taken human lives then you are right. Every one of us is guilty of killing humans, Mike... I am no exception."  
"But I could never kill you, Harvey... I love you..."  
Harvey carefully thumbed over his marks on Mike's neck, deep down where nobody would see them under the shirt collar, two red, perfectly round points on Mike's pale skin. He hummed deep and low in his throat when Mike shivered under his fingertips and he could not resist bowing his head and licking the small wounds, causing Mike to inhale deeply before he looked him back in the eyes.  
"And I love you, Mike, and when you come home to me bruised and hurt I am going to heal you and I will never ask you what you did and I will never not love you because you do what you were born to do."

They stood there holding each other tight. Everything that had happened, everything they had said and done reverberated between them and formed a little cocoon that separated them from the world. Nothing else mattered at the moment, nothing else. At some point Harvey recognized Mike shivered from the cold night air and he whispered softly:  
“Come on, let’s get back into bed, you need to sleep and I want to hold you till the sun rises.”


End file.
